Will Restaurants Replace Highland Park Theater?

HIGHLAND PARK, IL—The City Council took the first step Monday to potentially turning the Highland Park Theater into a new restaurant, retail and banquet facility

During Monday's meeting, council members unanimously approved a letter of intent from Canel Companies to purchase the theater property for $1.1 million and build a proposed two-story, 14,000-square-foot building that would house at least two restaurants, an indoor event space and an outdoor community garden. The city, however, would still keep the 6,800-square-foot Ori South parking lot on the north side of the property.

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Once the current building is demolished, a new facility would house either three restaurants or two restaurants and a retail space, said Canel Companies President Scott Canel during Monday' meeting. Event space would be upstairs, and the outdoor garden area also could be tented and used in the same way, he added. Construction on the project could begin as soon as mid- to late 2017, according to a timeline presented Monday.

While the council's approval opens the door for renovating the theater property, Canel will still need to go through the same procedures required of any other downtown development before its new facility can be built. But Scott Canel said his company is financially committed to the project and what it could mean as an investment in Highland Park's economic future.

"We're doing this for our kids. We're doing this for our community," Canel said. "We're dedicated to doing this."
And what Canel said he hopes this project will do for the Highland Park community is develop a chemistry with other nearby businesses and drive foot traffic to create "a very viable commercial core."

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Another aspect of the project will be to create job opportunities and vocational training for residents with developmental disabilities.

"We're going to give them restaurant and retail training," Canel said.

Determining the future of the Highland Park Theater has been a conundrum for the city since it bought the property in 2009. Originally, the plan was to keep it as an entertainment venue, but that changed in 2014 when the city decided to sell the property without any restrictions on its use.

In September, the City Council considered five proposals and chose to pursue Canel's plan for the property.

Residents can find out more about the theater's history and check out an FAQ about the property at the city's website.

PHOTO: Highland Park Theater (City of Highland Park)

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